Europe in the Tenth Century: Continuity and Change (HIH2092B)

30 credits

Did tenth-century continental Europe experience a dark age? It was so described by contemporary commentators and the view has persisted ever since: threatened and invaded from outside by Vikings, Magyars and Saracens, resulting in political turmoil and rising militarisation, and increasing intellectual timidity. In this module you will examine various aspects of the evidence for this picture in order to ask how far is it an accurate one? Taking a comparative approach, you will use contemporary sources from the time to investigate the social, political and cultural developments in France, Germany and northern Italy between c. 900 and c. 1000.